I think all these opinions are fair expressions of people's experience. One
of the concerns I always have when people ask me about entering into
vinyl is whether they will get a true picture of what a vinyl front end is
capable of on a modest budget. If the 5k has to include the cost of the
phono pre, that puts you into a budget of pretty modest turntable/arms,
when adding a decent cartridge. I raised a similar issue on another forum,
which is whether in this price range, you are really getting the true measure
of what vinyl is capable of. Buying used may help you up the ante, but as I
kept improving the vinyl front end and associated phono stage, the level of
musical 'rightness' kept improving. And it's not just about spending money,
it is also dependent on the sonic character of the phono pre as well as a
good tone arm and a turntable that doesn't have obvious colorations.
of the concerns I always have when people ask me about entering into
vinyl is whether they will get a true picture of what a vinyl front end is
capable of on a modest budget. If the 5k has to include the cost of the
phono pre, that puts you into a budget of pretty modest turntable/arms,
when adding a decent cartridge. I raised a similar issue on another forum,
which is whether in this price range, you are really getting the true measure
of what vinyl is capable of. Buying used may help you up the ante, but as I
kept improving the vinyl front end and associated phono stage, the level of
musical 'rightness' kept improving. And it's not just about spending money,
it is also dependent on the sonic character of the phono pre as well as a
good tone arm and a turntable that doesn't have obvious colorations.